Technical Cooperation

Project Name:

Fruit Tree Production and Marketing Project (Eswatini)

Project Description:

The Kingdom of Eswatini has successfully developed the production of sugar cane, pineapple, citrus and other cash crops, but the convergence in production of similar types of crops also puts farmers’ incomes at a greater risk. Eswatini is therefore implementing strategies to diversify production and commercialization, and the production and marketing of fruits has been emphasized in the Ministry of Agriculture’s action plan from 2013 to 2018.

After evaluation, it was found that the supply of fruit tree seedlings is unstable, that smallholder farmers lack experience in the large-scale production of bananas and papayas, and that up-to-date fruit tree cultivation management and post-harvest processing techniques need to be established. These issues have resulted in smallholder farmers only cultivating a minimal range of types of fruit trees, generating little income. By drawing on Taiwan’s plentiful variety of fruits and cultivation experience through bilateral cooperation, authorities in Eswatini hope to implement this project, and have selected banana and papaya, which have a larger market demand and potential, as the main targets, and pitaya (dragon fruit) and guava as secondary targets. The project will assist farmers in engaging in fruit tree production and in diversifying the variety of fruit trees, improving the fruit tree industrial chain and increasing farmers’ incomes.

Project content will include: (1) Establishing a high-quality fruit seedling supply system, including the production of 215,000 banana seedlings and 15,000 papaya seedlings at Malkerns National Agricultural Research Station over four years, and the production of 3,000 guava seedlings and 10,000 pitaya seedlings at Matsapha Station over four years; (2) establishing a production area for the target fruit trees, assisting farmer’s organizations working in the area to cultivate 105 hectares of bananas, 7.5 hectares of papayas, 5 hectares of guavas, and 5 hectares of pitayas; (3) improving fruit tree cultivation management techniques; and (4) improving post-harvest management techniques.

Implementation Start Date:

2016/1/1

Implementation End Date:

2019/12/31

Project Objectives:

A per-hectare increase in income of 40 percent (as compared to sugar cane) among farmer’s organizations receiving guidance through the project.

Executing Agency:

Ministry of AgricultureTaiwan Technical Mission in the Kingdom of Eswatini

Current Progress:

As of June 2019, the project has achieved the following:1.Established 0.1 hectare each of guava and pitaya mother stock fields.2.Established demonstration fields: 0.1 hectare of banana, 0.2 hectares of papaya, 0.1 hectare of pitaya, and 0.1 hectare of guava.3.Constructed 1 greenhouse and 9 screenhouses, which produced 321,000 banana seedlings, 15,000 papaya seedlings, 79,218 pitaya seedlings, and 3,386 guava seedlings.4.Completed 13 manuals on the propagation, cultivation, and post-harvest management on banana, papaya, pitaya, and guava; 5.Conducted 36 production training courses on seedling production, cultivation, and post-harvest management, with a total of 764 attendees;6.Extended 73.64 hectares of banana, 7.6 hectares of papaya, 5 hectares of pitaya, and 2.6 hectares of guava.7.Assisted Lomveshe Farmers’ Company and Sidzakeni Farmers’ Company in application of loans from financial institutions for farm management.8.Assisted the farmers to sell the fruit domestically and internationally in the amount of 1,500.3 tons.